Udupi, June 24: In a humanitarian gesture, a mentally unsound woman from Maharashtra and her five-year-old daughter, who were wandering under distressed conditions on the streets of Manipal, were rescued by social worker Vishu Shetty Ambalapady and admitted to the district government hospital.

The woman has been identified as Neetu Thakur (35) and her daughter as Sonia Thakur (5), originally hailing from the Malad suburb of Mumbai. During preliminary interactions, the woman claimed to be a mother of four children. The duo had reportedly been living on the streets for several months without basic hygiene or shelter. They were spotted wandering aimlessly across the main roads of Manipal, forcefully boarding public vehicles, and screaming in distress, causing panic among commuters.

Upon receiving alerts from local residents, social worker Vishu Shetty, along with woman police personnel Deepa Shetty from the Manipal Police Station, rushed to the spot and successfully rescued both the mother and the toddler. The woman has been shifted to the Udupi District Government Hospital for immediate psychiatric evaluation and medical care.

Expressing concern over the delay in official intervention, Vishu Shetty stated,

“In such vulnerable situations on the streets, young girls are at an extremely high risk of exploitation by anti-social elements. It is unfortunate that child welfare departments failed to notice them earlier despite stringent child protection laws in India.”

He urged the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and allied departments to immediately initiate statutory legal procedures to provide a safe educational and living environment for the five-year-old girl. He has requested any relatives of the victims to immediately contact the Manipal Police Station or the Udupi District Hospital.

GangolliNews